Domination Black
FEARBRINGER

January 2006
Released: 2005, Poison Arrow Records
Rating: 5.0/5
Reviewer: Luxi Lahtinen

Here it is. Probably the most eagerly awaited album on my personal ´must-get´ list in 2005: Domination Black and these horror-oozing metallers´ debut album titled FEARBRINGER. You obviously want to know so curiously what´s that thing in them - and/or in this album exactly what makes them so special to me, am I correct? Well, I gotta assume you like the voice of Rob Halford? Or Tim "Ripper" Owens? Or let´s say, even King Diamond? And King´s music has always been highly respected in your unholy books? And you have always liked slices of Thrash Metal as well - or simply a well-crafted Heavy Metal has always melted your pants somewhat 100% perfectly? Hmmm... then you are on a right path.



Domination Black pretty much have answered to every single modest prayer that I have had towards their debut album in advance since I became familiar with these fellows´ truly impressive 4-track demo titled FEAR RELOADED last year. The band´s kinda heavily Judas Priest -reeking, thrashy Heavy Metal obviously neither is anything new nor extremely unique or original on this planet, but it´s no denying either it has got all those delicious and mind-teasing ingredients for a Metal album that makes it a real stand-out debut album, just no matter how you look at it. In a way I hoped, silently deep down in me that Judas Priest´s ANGEL OF RETRIBUTION would have been that kind of an album that could have sounded at least a bit like Domination Black -camp´s FEARBRINGER - y´know, being a tad heavier, more aggressive, catchier and overall a bit more ´to-the-point´ -effort, capturing an attention of a listener instantly and leaving no holes open for escape since you have entered in.



Honestly, there´s not one single song on FEARBRINGER that sounds like a filler or anything alike, being included for the album to gain more lenght for it - just for the sake of the album´s length itself. Every single song out of total of 9 songs having been featured for FEARBRINGER, sounds like a real masterpiece of its own. Their songs aren´t any sort of ´growers´ either; on the contrary they have this extraordinary fine tendency catch your ears right away, guide you through a host of great things in Metal music in general and make your journey absolutely worthwhile ´til you fingers are about realize to push the ´Repeat´ button again... and again... and all over again. Some albums can be THAT addictive... they really can, I can tell. DB´s FEARBRINGER is simply one of those albums that kind of never loose grip over you; it keeps your ears tightly and determinedly nailed to it ´til your life-time parther looses her/his interest toward you completely and vanishes like a miserable fart to the vast Sahara -desert. Songs like a creepy, highly Thrashiferous yet punishing "Ultra-Speed Destructor", a slowly building-up yet nicely epic-like "Traitor Within", always so wonderfully haunting "The Psycho" and a monumental ballad type of tune "Frozen Tears" are nothing but definitely diamond-hard proofs for this fivesome´s capabilities to create uncompromising and always highly addictive Metal songs, based on some of the finest Heavy Metal´s cliches. And if that doesn´t satisfy you enough, you don´t know a slightest what a true Heavy Metal is all about. Therefore shall it be proclaimed boldly that FEARBRINBER is a pure, 1st quality masterpiece of well-penned down Metal of both the past and the future.



WARNING! FEARBRINGER contains 9 songs of pure awesomeness that may cause positively addictive convulsions in your brain!